Chapter 33

The graduation lasted more than an hour, and they had to stay for the whole thing because Daniel was in one age group and Tommy in another. However, it was worth it. Tony watched as Tim excitedly applauded as Tommy's team came onto the small stage, almost all wearing blue flight suits. Tony could see Tim's happiness at how excited Tommy was. When Tommy saw Tim and Tony, his grin got even wider, and it was only with effort that he didn't start waving at them. They moved through all the groups quickly, but it was still a lot of kids and so it took a while. When the older age group came out, Tony could easily spot Daniel, as he was taller than almost all the other kids. Tony was also happy to see that Daniel appeared to be feeling no anxiety. This was one time when he was simply enjoying his experience. Even though it had cost extra, Tony was glad that they'd both decided to pay for the flight suits for Tommy and Daniel. It made everything seem more official somehow.

Finally, the graduation was over and there were masses of kids moving every which way. And even though Tommy and Daniel had been here for a week without any of the family there, Tony was amused to see a little bit of concern on Tim's face as he looked for his son in the chaos. Tony watched out for Daniel and spotted him quickly. He started waving to get his attention, not bothering to shout amid all the other noises.

Eventually, Daniel saw him and smiled widely. He started making his way through the crowd, but he kept looking back and Tony couldn't tell why, until finally, he was almost there and Tony was thrilled to see that he had already tracked down Tommy and was making sure the much shorter boy could keep up. Then, they could both move more quickly and Tommy darted over and grabbed Tim around the waist, hugging him tightly.

"Dad! Did you see me? I was the mission specialist...well, one of the mission specialists! I got to help make a Mars colony! And we went to the International Space Station in a simulation and did you know that the space station is usually just called the ISS? That's the acronym. And..."

Tony watched and saw one of the most interesting silent exchanges ever. As he walked to Tony, Daniel suddenly looked over at Tim and made eye contact. Tim's expression was complete understanding and he nodded encouragingly before refocusing on Tommy's continuing explanation of what he'd done at the space camp.

"Daniel, did you enjoy it?"

"Yeah, I did," Daniel said. He swallowed and looked a little nervous.

"If you wait until Tommy stops talking, we'll be back in D.C.," Tony said. "Come on, let's get out this room to where we can hear each other!"

Daniel nodded and they all made their way out of the building. As they went, Daniel waved to some other kids, Tommy shouted good-bye to some kids that looked to be around his age. One girl wearing a hijab waved and Tony noticed Daniel duck his head a little and then wave back.

"Someone you know?" Tony asked.

"Her name is Muna. She was on my team. She was nice," Daniel said, sounding embarrassed, but he craned his neck to see her again as she walked in the opposite direction.

Finally, they were outside and while it was still packed with people, it was less noisy.

Tommy was still talking.

"And there was a girl in my group. She was so smart! She came up with this really neat idea for a greenhouse in our colony, even though there's not very much sunlight but it would gather the sunlight and..."

"So...um..." Daniel hesitated for a second and then, he smiled hesitantly. "...Dad, did you guys have fun on your trip?"

It was all Tony could do not to just grab his son in a giant hug. He didn't, but he knew that Tim was watching him, even while listening to Tommy, and he couldn't help but smile and then squeeze Daniel's arm for a moment.

"Not as much fun as Tommy, I think," Tony said.

Daniel laughed and relaxed.

"We ate a lot of the meals together, not all of them, but some. He wanted to tell me everything and he wanted me to tell him everything. The others on my team loved him."

"Did he do anything with his own team?"

"Oh, yeah. He did, but he was always excited to see me."

"Okay, Tommy, take a breath for a second," Tim said, suddenly. "Daniel how was your group? What did you do?"

"Dad, can we go to the gift shop? I want to buy a pin!"

"Sure. Tony, you mind?"

"Nope."

"Okay, we can talk while we walk. Did you do any of the Mars stuff?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, we did. We had an extended simulation that lasted almost a full day. We had to plan for everything we needed and how to get around. It was neat."

"What was the best part?"

"The SCUBA diving," Daniel said without hesitation. "We got to feel neutral buoyancy and it's some of the same stuff that real astronauts do in their training. I didn't like the trainer, though. Tommy liked it."

"I loved it!" Tommy said. "We didn't have controls, though, like the real astronauts did. I'll bet I could have fixed it."

They got into the gift shop, and there were a lot of others there, too. Tommy went straight over to the pins and grabbed one. Then, he checked in his pockets for his money. He grabbed Tim's arm and pulled him down to whisper in his ear. Tim grinned and nodded. Then, he got another one. Tony didn't think anything of it. Something else caught his eye.

"Oh, I need to buy some Space Camp tube socks," he said.

"Tube socks? Why?" Daniel asked.

"Because you run faster when you're wearing tube socks."

"Yeah, right."

"Works for me," Tony said. "Pick something for you and something for Ivan and Grace."

"Okay."

Daniel grabbed a football for himself. Then, he picked up a frisbee for Grace and a towel for Ivan. It was soft and fuzzy and would be perfect for him. Tony also got a key chain for Jo so she'd get two from him and then looked over where Tommy was trying to convince Tim to get a bean bag toss game.

"Tommy, we're not spending over 50 dollars on a game like this. You'll use it once and then forget about it. Let's just find something for your mom and your sisters."

"Dad...can we get something for Tim?" Daniel asked.

It wasn't quite natural, but Tony felt a little thrill again. He smiled and looked over.

"I know Tim loves this stuff, but he's trying to be responsible. Can we get him something while he's not looking?"

"Sure. Let's do it. Nothing too expensive. He'll feel like he has to do the same for us."

"Okay."

"And we'll need to wait to give it to him until we drop them off."

"Why?"

"So that he can't protest and make us put it back."

Daniel laughed.

"Okay."

While Tim was helping Tommy pick out some t-shirts and a couple of small gifts for the girls, Tony and Daniel found something perfect for Tim. It wasn't expensive, and it was a little goofy, but it was perfect.

It was a mug with the NASA logo on it and it read It's not rocket science... Oh, wait. Yes, it is! For Tim, it was perfect. Then, Daniel found another insulated camper mug that read Just give me space. Again, it was perfect. In the end, they decided to buy both of them. In fact, they took their purchases and bought them all before Tim and Tommy were done.

"Are you going to finish anytime soon?" Tony asked when they were done with their purchases.

Tim looked up.

"Yes. Tommy is just deciding whether Evelyn would want a yellow shirt or a blue shirt. And he has ten seconds to decide."

Tommy looked at Tim and nodded. He started to point at both of them, clearly doing eenie, meenie, miney, moe. Tim rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. Tommy ended by pointing at the yellow one. He grabbed it and Tim took it.

"Okay. Nothing else, Tommy. That's all we're getting. Let's get in line."

"We'll wait outside," Tony said, hoping for a couple of minutes with Daniel before they got into the car.

"We'll be there when we get through," Tim said.

Tony gave him the thumbs up and then left the gift shop. When they got out to the parking lot, there was a moment of awkward silence. It was the chance Tony wanted, but he wasn't sure how to address it without making Daniel feel uncomfortable.

Then, to his surprise, Daniel brought it up himself.

"Do you mind?" Daniel asked.

Tony didn't make him say what he meant. He turned to him and shook his head.

"Not even a tiny bit, not even a smidgen," he said, smiling. "Not even whatever the smallest bit of something is."

Daniel laughed but then he looked earnest.

"It's just that... Grace and me were talking about it one night... and Grace said that we should stop thinking of the people who had us as our parents. They weren't parents. They were just people. You guys are. And maybe it would be better if we looked at it that way instead. ...but we weren't sure how to start when we hadn't been. So it's okay?"

Now, Tony didn't care who was watching or anything like that, he set down the bag of their souvenirs and he pulled Daniel into a big hug.

"More than okay, Daniel," he said, trying not to be too mushy. "You've made my whole year."

Daniel hugged him back tightly.

"Thanks, Dad," Daniel whispered.

"You're welcome."

Then, after a moment, Daniel pulled back and he looked almost teary himself.

They stared at each other for a moment and then, the moment ended when Tommy came running over to them and started talking at high speed again. Tony gave Daniel a one-armed side hug and then let him go as Tim caught up. He looked at them and he just smiled without speaking. This was the kind of moment when Tony couldn't figure out how Tim could ever consider himself a failure. He seemed to grasp some things in an instant without any difficulty. He was so good at it. How could he think he wasn't? Then, Tommy proved that Tim had passed a little of that on to Tommy already.

"Daniel, I got you something!" Tommy said.

"Tommy, we were both at the camp together. What could you–?"

Tommy pulled a pin out of the bag of souvenirs.

"I bought myself a pin, but you were so nice about letting me eat with you and so I didn't get scared at all while I was here and you didn't ignore me or anything. So you should have a space camp pin like mine!"

He handed the pin to Daniel who looked at Tim for a moment.

"Tommy bought it with his own money," Tim said. "It was his idea and he had some money left over."

Daniel looked down at Tommy and smiled.

"Thanks, Tommy."

"You're welcome!"

"Okay, let's get going," Tim said. "Tony, are you okay to drive?"

Tony raised an eyebrow and Tim just shrugged without comment.

"Can do. So, you two, we're going to get a little bit of history in on our way back."

"History?" Daniel asked. "We just spent all week doing science! In the summertime!"

"This is cool history," Tim said. "We're just going to stop at a couple of places and see them and we're taking the coast roads so it'll take us a little longer to get home."

"Yes!" Tommy said, happily. "I love the scenic route!"

"The what?" Daniel asked.

"The scenic route! It always takes longer because that means we're on small roads where you have to drive slower and sometimes you get stuck behind a really slow car and so everything takes longer!"

"That doesn't sound like a good thing," Daniel said.

"It is!" And then, Tommy said one of the things that Tony knew always got to Tim. "It means we get to hang out together longer! And that's a good thing!"

Then, Tommy paused for a second.

"Isn't it?" he asked, a hint of uncertainty.

And Daniel stepped up as Tony had hoped he would.

"Yes, it is. You're right. The only time it matters is if we have to get somewhere fast, like when we went to the camp."

"Right!"

"Then, let's get on the road!" Tony said.

They all got into the car and started heading northward.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"How far are we going to go today?" Daniel asked. "It's only just after noon and I'm hungry."

"Not enough freeze-dried ice cream?" Tony asked.

"Tony, they only had that once and no one liked it, remember? Dad already told you," Tommy said.

Tony looked over at Tim who was trying not to laugh.

"How could I forget that? Well, keep on the lookout for a fast food place. We can stop quick and eat it in the car."

"There's a McDonald's!" Tommy said, almost instantly.

"We'll save a little money finally," Tim said in a low voice.

"Not with Daniel in the car," Tony said.

Tim chuckled.

They stopped and got some food at the Golden Arches, and then it was back on their way. Once he'd eaten about half his food, Daniel remembered his first question again.

"So where are we going to stop today?"

"I think we could probably get up to Charleston," Tim said. "What do you think?"

"How far is that?" Tommy asked.

Tim turned back and held out the atlas. "Are you ready to figure it out, Mission Specialist McGee?"

Tommy grinned and took the atlas quickly, forgetting to finish his fries. He opened up to a map of the United States and began studying it to find where they'd started and where they were going. Tim saw Daniel look at him, but he didn't say anything more. Right now, Tommy found this kind of exercise fun. If he did, there was no reason to point out that he was doing math or anything else. It was just fun.

"It's about 400 miles from here to Charleston!" Tommy said after a few minutes of studious silence.

"Okay. Tony, what's the speed limit?" Tim asked.

"Seventy," Tony said. "But I'll bet we don't get that the whole time."

"That's okay. You speed whenever you can," Tim said, grinning.

"Ha."

"Okay, Tommy. We're going 70 mph."

Tommy pulled out a piece of paper and started doing some math. Tim let him use a calculator sometimes, but he wanted Tommy to know how it worked without one, too.

"Five point seven hours," Tommy said. Then, his brow furrowed. "How long is point seven hours?"

"That's doing decimals. You haven't had to do that yet," Tim said.

"Teach me, Dad!"

Tim smiled. It didn't matter how many times it happened. He always loved it when Tommy asked him for help or asked him to do something. No matter how simple or how complex, Tim loved it.

"Okay. It's multiplying that you've started doing, but with fractions...only, we're using the decimal point instead of the fraction. They basically mean the same thing. Now, we need to figure out how much is point seven of sixty. But why sixty?"

Tommy thought for a moment.

"There are 60 minutes in an hour!"

"That's right. So multiply 60 times .7."

"How do I do the point?"

"Just do 60 times 7 first."

Tommy did it.

"It's 420."

"Okay, now, here's how you do the point. You pretend that there's a point after the zero and you move it to the left one place."

Tommy drew a point and then moved it.

"Now, what do you have?"

"Forty-two."

"So .7 of an hour is?"

"It's 42 minutes! So 5 hours and 42 minutes!"

"Good job, Tommy!" Tim said and held out his hand.

Tommy gave him five and looked very pleased with himself...and then promptly went back to munching on his fries. Delilah sometimes asked Tim if he wasn't giving Tommy a little too much...for the sake of his teachers, but Tim said that it would just give him a little head start. A teeny, tiny head start.

"Of course, that probably shaved another ten minutes off the drive," Tony said softly.

"Doesn't matter. He figured it out."

"Daniel is looking at you in awe again," Tony said.

Tim laughed. "No, he's not."

Then, Tim changed the subject quickly.

"So how was it staying overnight every night, Tommy? Did you get scared at all?"

"A little bit," Tommy said. "The first night. I've never done that before, but there were a lot of other kids in the room and we stayed up late the first night, after we were supposed to go to sleep and we talked about what we were going to do. It was fun. Even when the lights were off, it was fun. I just had to get used to it."

"Good. Daniel, were the older kids in the same kinds of rooms?"

"Well, it was two of us per room, on bunks. We were with other people on our team and we were all in the same part. One day, they took us over to see where the rockets launch from."

"Really?" Tim asked, knowing he probably sounded a lot like Tommy did.

"Yeah, and one night, we got to talk to the astronauts on the space station!" Tommy added.

"How did they do that?" Tim asked.

"We were all in the room together. So there were lots of us, and they had it up on a big screen."

"We got to ask questions, too," Daniel said. "Mine didn't get picked, and Tommy's didn't either, but there were a lot of us in there."

"One of the girls asked about how the women astronauts washed their hair in zero gravity," Tommy said. "That was a long answer and it wasn't that interesting."

"The girls liked it," Daniel said, trying to be diplomatic. "I liked when someone asked how they didn't get tired of each other when they have to be together in such a small space for so long."

"What did they say?" Tony asked.

"That they had so much work to do that they didn't have time to get mad at each other."

Tony laughed. Tim was glad that Tony was being a part of the conversation, even though he wasn't as interested.

Further discussions of the space camp carried them most of the way up the coastline. They didn't really stop anywhere except to get gas (and snacks of course). But as they neared Charleston, it was time to find a place to stay and a place to get dinner. Tim quickly did a search and found a hotel that actually had two bedrooms, one with two queens and one with a king. They decided to get that one and there were some restaurants nearby.

Tim navigated them to the hotel so that they could drop their stuff and then go and get some dinner. They decided to go to a steakhouse nearby that they could walk to and wouldn't be too different. It was a little pricy but Tommy ordered off the kids menu which made it a little cheaper. By unspoken agreement, Tony and Tim avoided ordering any alcohol which also cut down on the cost. After dinner, it was back to the hotel and Tim had to convince Tommy that it was time to take off the flight suit and that in the morning, he'd have to wear something different.

...and as soon as Tim got him to lay down, Tommy was down for the count and it was suddenly a lot quieter in the room.

Tim gave a smile and a wave to Tony and Daniel and then closed the door to his bedroom. He hoped that Tony and Daniel would get a chance to talk, but even without it, he could see that Tony was thrilled and Daniel was happy, too. That made it good, no matter what.

But for now, even with as little as he'd done that day, he was tired. He just hoped that he could get some good sleep tonight without disturbing his son.

With that last thought, Tim lay down and went to sleep.